BOFEPUSU protests overtime threat
Oarabile Mosikare | Wednesday August 13, 2014 14:54
In the savingram dated August 7, 2014 the DPSM Director, Carter Morupisi said they have observed “trends showing an increasing overtime bill attributed largely to poor supervision and monitoring. “Any acts, omissions or authorisations tending to show abuse of overtime will be investigated and where necessary, appropriate action taken against those involved,” threatened Morupisi. He added: “In the year 2013/14 alone, non-commuted overtime payment amounted to a staggering sum of P516, 440. 363, which represents about 56% of the overall overtime bill in the public service.”
But BOFEPUSU secretary general, Tobokani Rari, has said Morupisi’s savingram, which he (Rari) confirmed seeing, violates the Employment Act.
In an interview yesterday, Rari explained that according to the Employment Act, overtime shall be subject to negotiations between the employer and the employee.
He said the prerogative to decide whether to be paid by money or days off shall be that of the employee and not the employer.
“The burden is on the employee to decide whether he wants to get money or days off. That particular savingram violates the Employment Act because it prescribes and does not allow the employee to choose,” he explained. Meanwhile in the savingram, Morupisi said government was concerned about the increasing overtime bill after spending more than P500 million during the 2013-2014 financial year. The savingram has been circulated to all government ministries instructing them to devise strict intervention measures to control overtime expenditure in the public service.
“All addressees are informed that government has been closely monitoring overtime payments for non-commuted employees in the public service. “However, trends do show an increasing overtime bill attributed largely to poor supervision and monitoring.
“In the year 2013/14 alone, non-commuted overtime payment amounted to a staggering sum of P516, 440. 363, which represents about 56% of the overall overtime bill in the public service,” wrote Morupisi.
Morupisi urged all the ministries that employees should not perform overtime work save where they have been authorised to do so. “No employee will be authorised to work overtime in excess of the period prescribed by law, which is 14 hours in any given week.”
He informed the ministries that with regard to all employees, excluding shift workers authorised to work during paid public holidays, they must be given days off and not paid overtime. “Supervisors must ensure, as much as is reasonably possible, that supervisees utilise their normal working time optimally and productively to avoid spillage into overtime what could otherwise not have amounted to overtime work.” He urged all accounting officers to make sure that supervisors regularly account to them and that they are periodically assessed on the management of overtime.
“I expect that starting this month, not later than the last working day of all succeeding months, every ministry should furnish my department with a report on overtime expenditure.”